Tokyo Psychic

Noticing the unusual situation below the stage, Akira Kurusu, who was half-squatting next to Nina Izare and comforting her, followed Mashiro Kurata's gaze and looked up at the sky.

There was clearly nothing there.

However, the Fool's Eye, a gift from the Velvet Room, keenly reflects a strange sense of presence.

The white dove exploded without warning, turning into a pile of nothingness feathers.

He fled.

That strange and twisted feeling vanished in an instant.

Enemies are approaching.

Since even the Fool's Eye cannot detect the true nature of the enemy, it must be a collection of human unconscious evil thoughts.

That is, an evil god who has taken over a mythological figure through the Sea of ​​the Heart.

This means that... a new mental palace has been formed.

Akira Kurusu observed the area below the stage without leaving a trace.

Sensing Akira Kurusu's attention, the "Sumimi" Miku immediately lowered her head, her entire face hidden in the shadow of her baseball cap.

The saying "a guilty conscience needs no accuser" probably describes this situation.

......

Kurosaki Akira lifted Iori Rencai up by the back of her collar and then shoved the microphone back into her hand.

Jingqin Rencai was still immersed in her earlier blunder, feeling helpless due to the embarrassment of losing face and the panic of facing such a huge stage.

Little did he know that Akira Kurusu beside him had long lost interest in rehearsing.

Fortunately, his talent was undeniable. When the accompaniment started playing again, he almost instinctively and perfectly fulfilled all the tasks required of the rhythm guitar position.

Offstage, Kaname was swaying back and forth, clutching her battle-worn, discolored guitar, her fingers scratching at the strings. She seemed itching to get on stage and join the band's closing guitar part...

In fact, if Shiina Tatsuki and Chihaya Aine hadn't surrounded her in the audience from both sides, the girl would have really rushed out.

......

The band's first rehearsal ended badly.

Just as the girls were dejectedly preparing to discuss what improvements they should make for the next rehearsal in the lounge, they saw Akira Kurusu suddenly stand up and leave her seat.

"Ren, where are you going?" Ichiji Nijika quickly grabbed Kurishi Akira.

After a period of time following the training camp, Ijichi Nijika was already able to call her rhythm guitar by its name very intimately.

This was the first time in her life that she had addressed a man so intimately, but considering that they were both indispensable parts of the same band and like-minded friends, she didn't feel shy at all; instead, she felt a subtle sense of anticipation and emotion.

It felt like a fateful encounter; at that vibrant, youthful age, wanting to form a band and chase dreams, I met the right friends...

Now, not only have they successfully debuted, but they have also stood on such a dazzling stage.

As she asked this question, Ichiji Nijika subconsciously followed Kurusu Akira to ask him the same question.

She had only taken a few steps when Ichiji Nijika immediately remembered how she had been holding the drumsticks, feeling helpless and awkward, even when the accompaniment was played again. So she silently stopped in her tracks, a look of heartbreaking self-reproach and embarrassment brewing on her usually smiling face.

Toyokawa Shoko originally wanted to chase after them, but when she turned around and noticed the girls in the lounge with their different expressions, she decided to stay and comfort her bandmates. As someone who had confessed her identity as a "psychic thief" to them and who was often relied upon by others because of her family background, she decided to stay and comfort them.

Yamada Ryo slapped Ijichi Nijika's shoulder hard, instantly waking the dazed girl. "Ouch!"

"Hongxia, there are five more rehearsal opportunities from tonight to tomorrow afternoon. It's normal to feel nervous when you're on such a big stage for the first time."

It was rare for Yamada Ryo to say such a long sentence.

"Liang...aren't you nervous?"

"Of course I'm nervous, but I'm mostly looking forward to it, right?" Yamada Ryo's eyes revealed a lot of longing. "This is a venue that's three times bigger than the Budokan... If I can't perform to my heart's content here, I might regret it for the rest of my life."

"And what about Miss Momoka?"

Kawahara Momoka, who was sitting in the corner with her guitar in her arms, was in a daze for a while before answering, "This is also my first time on such a big stage."

Although she was once a band's lead singer with professional aspirations, her "Diamond Dust" never actually took to the stage.

They were active in various performance halls in Tokyo and the surrounding areas for a long time, and occasionally did street performances. The Budokan was already a stage that "diamond dust" could only dream of, let alone the Seibu Dome, which can accommodate three times the number of people as the Budokan.

He had deliberately abandoned his dream of a career and succumbed to the busyness of life, only wanting to relive the joy of rock and roll with these high school students who were two or three years younger than him. But by chance, he ended up in this venue that he had never even dared to dream of before.

Momoka Kawahara looked down at her calloused fingers, her pupils trembling slightly.

Even though there was nothing on my fingertips, it felt as if an electric current had passed through them, leaving faint burn marks, followed by a distinct tingling and stinging sensation.

She knew that she had always been looking forward to such a stage.

An opportunity to shine and become extraordinary without restraint... to become dazzling and extraordinary.

At this very moment, if anyone in the room were to ask Momoka Kawaharaki, "Our band might be transitioning to a professional career, would you be willing to continue with us?"

At this moment, Momoka Kawahara is absolutely incapable of lying.

She will definitely agree to the professional transition and then pursue the dream she once gave up.

But perhaps the disastrous rehearsal had left the girls with a severe sense of frustration, so much so that even after "MYGO" had gone through its own rehearsal, "Morfonica" took the stage amidst enthusiastic applause from the staff, and the dressing room was completely silent.

Occasionally, you can hear the girls talking quietly.

Such conversations mostly consisted of Toyokawa Shoko comforting Izayoi Nina and Ijichi Nijika...

Ryo Yamada is probably already dreaming about his life after becoming famous, lying on the sofa with his phone in hand, repeatedly clicking on various entries in his browser.

Suddenly, her phone slipped from her hand and hit her in the face.

"problem occurs!"

Yamada Ryo practically sprang up, grabbed his phone, and found Toyokawa Shoko.

"Xiangzi! The Phantom Thieves..."

"Hmm?" Toyokawa Shoko looked puzzled. This wasn't actually the first time Yamada Ryo had approached her to ask about the "Psychic Thieves."

But the fact that Yamada Ryo could show such a surprised expression and speak in such a panicked tone was something Toyokawa Shoko had never seen before.

"what happens?"

Toyokawa Shoko took Yamada Ryo's phone.

She saw the long stretch of English text on the website, and her pupils contracted sharply.

......

After leaving the lounge, I walked up the stairs to the rooftop of the stadium.

Akira Kurusu bought a can of condensed milk flavored MAX coffee from a vending machine. The super high sugar content always helps one to regain some clarity from chaotic thoughts.

The sky had darkened, and the evening breeze was warm but not scorching.

Gripping the slightly rusty railing, the phantom thief gazed at the brightly lit cityscape of Saitama Prefecture in the distance. His long, messy bangs were blown aside by the wind, revealing a pair of cold, dark gray eyes.

After a while, he turned around and looked at Mitsu Miku, who had followed him all the way to the rooftop.

"Miss Triangle, is there anything I can help you with?"

Miku Miku, clutching the brim of her baseball cap, trembled violently as if she were shivering, her shoulders hunching and twitching as if she were crying.

After a while, she raised her face, and her exquisite face emerged from the shadows, revealing a hideous and twisted smile.

"Ren Amamiya, I know... you are the Phantom Thief of the Mind!"

“I’m surprised you know this,” Akira Kurusu said calmly, “but in my long history of fighting enemies, you are not the first enemy to obtain information about my true identity through ‘unknown’ means.”

Noticing Akira Kurusu's uncompromising indifference, Misaki Misaki instinctively took a step back. "Aren't you afraid I'll expose your identity to the public?!"

“If you do that, you will immediately disappear from this world—erased by the very person who told you these things.”

"You think I'm afraid?!" A hysterical madness raged in Misaki's eyes. "What I want is to destroy you, destroy Xiangzi..."

Akira noticed her undisguised and insane jealousy and fell silent.

It turns out they were thinking of taking everyone down with them.

That's... hopelessly stupid.

The hot wind blew up Akira Kurusu's shirt hem, revealing a few glimpses of her toned abs.

He confessed, "Then, repent."

As she spoke, Akira Kurusu raised her right hand and calmly waved it in the direction of Mitsu Mitsu.

Just as Miku Miku was about to dodge, she saw a pitch-black announcement letter slapping against her face with the wind.

204. Declaring War on the Mind Thieves (Part 2)

---------------

Japan's largest news website has been hijacked.

The organization that did this was the infamous international hacker group "Megiddo".

A long string of English text lay flat at the top of the webpage, with the organization's logo representing "Megido" embedded at the end.

[A warning has been issued to the "Psychic Thieves," who have caused a stir in Japan, to immediately cease promoting false justice.]

We do not want to see false justice spread; we are the true enforcers of justice.

"Wait a minute! Could you please not translate the original text in such a childish tone?!"

In Morfonica's dressing room, Futaba Tsukushi looked at her lead singer with a pained expression.

Kurata Mashiro covered her face with one hand, peeking out one eye to stare at her phone screen—she was holding the phone up with her other hand and reading aloud the short English essay left by "Megido" on the webpage in a very exaggerated tone.

The Morfonica members around looked at each other for a while, and then all showed helpless and compliant smiles.

"It seems this child really likes that Phantom Thieves group."

"After all, the idea of ​​stealing the twisted desires of a sinner and making them repent is surprisingly cool."

"But do people with superpowers really exist in the world?"

The girls whispered among themselves.

Even though Kurata Mashiro was interrupted, she only stared at Futaba Tsukushi with a reproachful look for a moment before continuing her recitation.

She looked at her phone and continued translating the short English essays on the website in the same JPRG-esque narration style.

However, we are very forgiving and have decided to give the Phantom Thieves a chance to repent...

If you are willing to repent and reform, you are allowed to join our ranks as "Megido".

If you refuse, you will be punished by justice!

【...】

We are "Megiddo," beings that cannot be seen.

Defeat evil forces invisibly!

......

"I really didn't expect that the infamous hacker group would actually admit to the existence of the Mind Thieves."

For a declaration of war to be effective, there must be a clearly defined and actually existing target.

As a well-known hacker group active worldwide, "Megiddo" would naturally not declare war on a fabricated, fake group with delusional tendencies.

That indirectly proves that they, by endorsing their own reputation and credibility, have confirmed the existence of secret societies formed by mysterious figures with the superpower to make evil people repent.

Akira Kurusu tossed her phone to Mutsu Wakaba, who caught it, saw the contents of the screen, and immediately handed it to Shoko Toyokawa on the other side.

The phone was passed around among the members of the Phantom Thieves, who then looked at Akira Kurusu with varying expressions.

As expected, the phantom thief said, "Regarding the phantom thief gang, as long as you are willing to investigate, and connect it with cognitive science and those 'mental breakdown cases,' it should be easy to determine that this is not a fabricated urban legend... But to make the uninformed public completely believe it, we still need to provide concrete evidence that they can see at a glance, after all, cognitive science is still a very niche research project in society."

"Fortunately, because of this, although our existence has been brought into the public eye, we lack strong evidence, so the public still does not directly associate our identities with 'Mind Thieves'."

The phone was passed around and returned to Akira Kurusu's hand.

Akira Kurusu looked at her companions and said, "Currently, the only person who has proof of our true identities is Misaki Miku."

"How...how did she know?" Toyokawa Shoko asked Kurusu Akira with utter astonishment.

“It was the evil god who told her.” Akira Kurusu took a deep breath. “Just like when we faced ‘Naoya Todo’ and ‘Vishnu’... This time it must be, and can only be, the work of the evil god.”

"A god formed from the collective evil thoughts of humanity, His appearance... must signify the birth of a palace capable of housing Him."